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Twin Spirit Discipline

Twin Spirit Discipline

The Twin Spirit discipline is a newly emerged martial discipline, emphasizing mounted combat and tactics. It was created years after the fall of the Temple of Nine Swords by a paladin trained at the hands of Reshar himself, the legendary warrior who had united the original nine martial disciplines. After the death of Reshar and the collapse of the Temple, the paladin retreated into seclusion, where he trained both himself and his beloved mount in the ways of the martial adept. Eventually, he and his mount came to fight together perfectly as one, in what he would come to call the Twin Spirit discipline.

Though its master since died, the Twin Spirit discipline lives on. Only a handful of martial adepts have been trained in it, but it has been slowly but surely spreading. Those who have mastered the style will eagerly teach its secrets to any who seek such knowledge, should they prove themselves worthy.

The Twin Spirit discipline focuses on mounted combat, the bond of cooperation between rider and steed. Twin Spirit maneuvers enhance attacks made while mounted and improve the defense of both rider and mount. Both Crusaders and Swordsages can learn maneuvers of the Twin Spirit discipline. The key skill of the Twin Spirit discipline is Ride. The associated weapons of the discipline are the lance, longsword, and scimitar.

Last edited by The Demented One; 2008-12-31 at 07:38 PM.

I no longer actively read the forums, and probably won't respond to any PMs. I'm fine with people using my homebrew in anything, including fan-compilations and wikis, as long as you credit me.

Maneuver List

1st levelForceful Charge: Strike–Deal an extra 1d6 damage on a charge.Ride the Wind: Stance–Increase your steed’s land speed based on your ranks in the Ride skill.Tactical Charge: Boost–Turn during a charge.Trampling Strike: Strike–Both you and your mount attack a foe.

2nd levelGrounding Blow: Strike–Knock a foe prone.Leap From the Saddle: Strike–Jump off your mount and attack.Ride Unhindered: Stance–Charge and run over difficult terrain.

You charge a foe, and drive him back with your mount’s strong legs. You must be mounted to use this strike. As part of this maneuver, you make a charge against your target. If the attack successfully damages your target, it deals an additional 10d6 points of damage. Then, you may make a special bull rush check, substituting the damage bonus on the attack roll, except the damage added by this strike, for your Strength modifier. If your check is successful, the struck foe is driven back as normal, though you remain as you are. Once the foe has finished moving, he must make a Fortitude save, DC 17 plus your Strength modifier, or fall prone.

Your urge your mount on, driving it to its limits. The distance your mount can travel when making a charge is doubled until the end of turn. This stacks with the normal doubling of your speed due to charging, so that you may travel up to four times your base land speed. This is an exception to the rule that two doubling is equivalent to a tripling. However, for every 10 ft. beyond the normal limit you charge, your mount must make a DC 20 Fortitude save or take 1d6 damage.

You and your mount unite in a powerful stance that grants you superior leverage with your attacks, letting you pierce the damage resistance of your foes. While in this stance and mounted, all melee attacks you make ignore up to 5 points of damage reduction.

You and your mount charge together, attacking as one. You must be mounted to use this strike. As part of this maneuver, you make a charge against your target. At the end of the charge, both you and your mount may make a full attack against the target. The bonuses from charging apply to all attacks made by both of you, and the penalty to AC from charging applies to your mount as well as yourself.

You and your steed enter a state of unison, allowing you to throw off any attack with your combined effort. You gain a competence bonus on all saving throws equal to half the number of ranks you have in the Ride skill until end of turn.

You use the leverage you gain from your mount to knock a foe to his feet. You must be mounted to use this strike. As you initiate this strike, you may make a melee attack against your target. If the attack is successful, that opponent must then make a Fortitude save, DC 12 plus your Strength modifier, or be knocked prone.

This maneuver lets you throw a weapon at your foes, combining your strength and your mount’s momentum to deadly effect. You must be mounted to use this strike. As part of this maneuver, your steed may move up to its base land speed in a straight line. It must move at least 10 ft. in order for you to use this strike. After your mount has moved, you may then throw and attack with a light or one-handed melee weapon as if it were a throwing weapon, with a range increment equal to half the distance your mount moved, rounded up. If the thrown weapon successfully hits its target, it deals an additional 4d6 damage.

With this strike, you leap from your mount and attack your foe. You must be mounted to use this strike. As part of this maneuver, your steed may move up to its base land speed in a straight line. It must move at least 10 ft. in order for you to use this strike. After your mount has moved, you leap from the saddle, substituting a Ride check for a Jump check to determine how far you travel (you are treated as having a running start, even if your mount did not move a full 20 ft). If, after you have jumped, there is an enemy within your melee reach, you may make a single attack against it. You take a -2 penalty to your AC until the beginning of your next turn.

With this maneuver, you destroy your foe, leaving him crippled. You must be mounted to use this strike. As you initiate this strike, you may make a melee attack against your target. If the attack is successful, it deals an additional 8d6 points of damage, and deals 1d4 points of Strength and Constitution damage to the target. A successful Fortitude save, DC 17 plus your Strength modifier, halves the ability damage.

With this maneuver, you focus both your own strength and that of your mount into a single, crushing blow. You must be mounted to use this strike. As you initiate this strike, you may make a melee attack against your target. If the attack is successful, then the damage it deals is doubled.

This stance allows you to swiftly strike your foes and then retreat unharmed. While in this stance, you gain Ride-By Attack as a bonus feat (you do not need to meet is prerequisites). When you use the Ride-By Attack feat, you may make two attacks during the course of your movement. You may either attack one creature twice, or attack two different creatures once each. In addition, when you use the Ride-By Attack feat, you do not provoke attacks of opportunity by exiting squares threatened by creatures you attacked that rounded, whether successfully or not.

You charge a foe, knocking him unconscious with a single blow. You must be mounted to use this strike. As part of this maneuver, you make a charge against your target. If the attack successfully damages your target, it deals an additional 6d6 points of damage. In addition, the target must then make a Fort save, DC 15 plus your Str modifier, or take nonlethal damage equal to its current hp total.

You charge at your foe, driving your weapon through him with the strength of two. You must be mounted to use this strike. As part of this maneuver, you make a charge against your target. If the attack is successful, it deals an additional 4d6 points of damage. In addition, the critical multiplier of your weapon is increased by one if the attack is a critical hit.

You and your steed become a single being, slaying all that stands before you. You must be mounted to use this strike. As part of this maneuver, you make a charge against your target. If the attack is successful, it deals an additional 20d6 points of damage. If that is enough to drop your foe, then you may, as a free action, charge against another foe. However, you can move only half as far as you could on the first charge, and your attack deals only an additional 10d6 points of damage. If that is enough to drop the second foe, you may charge a third and final time. You may move only one quarter as far as you could on the first charge, and the attack deals only an additional 5d6 points. Even if that is enough to drop the third foe, you may not charge again. Once you have completed this, your mount is exhausted. You cannot use this strike if your mount is already exhausted.

While in this stance, you deftly maneuver your steed over even the trickiest of terrain. While mounted, you may run or charge through terrain that hampers your movement, although your speed is still reduced normally. In addition, your mount does not need to make Balance checks when charging or running over difficult terrain, such as over rough floors.

With this maneuver, you penetrate all your foe’s defenses, striking as one with your steed. You must be mounted to use this strike. As you initiate this strike, you may make a melee attack against your target. If the attack is successful, it ignores all of the target’s damage reduction, with the exception of epic damage reduction, and also deals an additional 1d6 points of damage for every point of damage reduction the target has, to a maximum of 15d6.

With this maneuver, you can strike your foe so hard he can barely do anything afterwards. You must be mounted to use this strike. As you initiate this strike, you may make a melee attack against your target. If the attack is successful, it deals an additional 2d6 points of damage. In addition, that opponent must then make a Fortitude save, DC 14 plus your Strength modifier, or be capable of taking only single actions for the next round.

You draw support from your mount, enduring harsh blows with its aid. Whenever you are dealt damage by a weapon, you may use this maneuver. As part of this maneuver, make a Ride check, with a DC equal to the amount of damage dealt to you. If you succeed, then the damage dealt is nonlethal, and is split evenly between you and your mount.

This maneuver allows you to twist and wind your course as you charge. You must be mounted to use this boost. When you charge, you may make a single 90 degree turn during the course of the charge. All other normal restrictions on charging still apply, and you must have line of sight to your target at the beginning of your charge.

You charge a foe, trampling any opponent that comes between you and him. You must be mounted to use this strike. As part of this maneuver, you make a charge against your target. Each time you exit a square adjacent to an enemy while charging, your mount may make a single hoof attack against that enemy at its highest base attack bonus. These attacks do not include bonuses from charging. If the charge attack successfully damages your target, it deals an additional 6d6 points of damage.

You must be mounted to use this strike. As you initiate this strike, you may make a melee attack against your target, and your steed may make a hoof attack against the same opponent as well. However, you both take a -2 penalty on your attack roll.

Last edited by The Demented One; 2007-04-15 at 11:33 AM.

I no longer actively read the forums, and probably won't respond to any PMs. I'm fine with people using my homebrew in anything, including fan-compilations and wikis, as long as you credit me.

Feats

Awaken Mount
Your mount has become more than a dumb beast, awakened to sentience by its bond with you.
Requirements: Favored Mount or Special Mount class feature, 3 Twin Spirit maneuvers, base attack bonus +8
Benefit: Your mount's Intelligence score increases by an amount equal to half your initiator level. The mount's type remains animal,and it does not gain the ability to speak, but it can communicate empathically with you because of your close bond. You and your mount must be able to see each other to communicate empathically.
Favored Mount
You have formed a bond with a specific mount.
Requirements: Mounted Combat, Ride-By Attack, one Twin Spirit maneuver
Benefit: Choose a specific creature to be your favored mount. That creature gains certain benefits based on your initiator level, as shown below:

If you already have a class feature that grants you a special mount, you instead treat your class level as being four higher for determining the abilities that mount gains.

Martial Mount
Your bond with your mount strengthens it, making it better prepared for combat.
Requirements: Favored Mount or Special Mount class feature, 3 Twin Spirit maneuvers, base attack bonus +8
Benefit: Your mount gains the maximum amount of hp from every HD it gains, including those it already has. The damage dice of all your mount's natural weapons increase by one step while you are mounted on it. In addition, while you are mounted, your mount uses either its own base save bonus or yours, whichever is higher, when making saving throws.

Last edited by The Demented One; 2007-04-15 at 11:30 AM.

I no longer actively read the forums, and probably won't respond to any PMs. I'm fine with people using my homebrew in anything, including fan-compilations and wikis, as long as you credit me.

Re: Feats

Sounds like a fun Discipline, though I think it would need some play testing before I'd call it complete. It looks mostly fair upon first glance, though I think in some places that could use a little revision. Example: I think Shatter the Unbreakable should possibly no bypass something like DR x/Epic, though that's just personal opinion.

Originally Posted by The Demented One

Favored Mount
You have formed a bond with a specific mount.
Requirements: Mounted Combat, Ride-By Attack, one Twin Spirit maneuver
Benefit: Choose a specific creature to be your favored mount. That creature gains certain benefits based on your initiator level, as shown below:

I assume this is feat, correct? If so, perhaps it should act like Superior Unarmed Strike does if a class already has a mount via class abilities (Such as Paladin.), perhaps infact have it be identical, if you have a special mount from a class ability such as the paladin one, you are treated as being 4 levels higher for your mount.

Re: Twin Spirit Discipline

Ok, this is pretty awesome. But I'm kind of confused on what the initiator level is. Is that a class I'm not aware of? Same with Crusader and Swordsage.

Nevermind.

Last edited by Vaynor; 2007-04-15 at 12:37 PM.

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the awareness of all that he did not know, of all that he had not read;
and the serenity for which he labored was shattered as he realized the
little time he had in life to read so much, to learn what he had to know.”
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Re: Twin Spirit Discipline

Mounted Combat was one dimension (perhaps... Demention?) of melee combat that was reasonably solid. 40+ damage at 3rd level on a single attack, with the added ability of attacking from a height, having a mount who you can protect with Ride checks... I would have thought it fair already.

However, you did a good job of going through and improving it without putting in anything that looks like it would be too easily exploitable. Good work.